8 TIPS ON PHOTOGRAPHING MATERA, ITALY

Matera is an ancient city in Basilicata on the edge of the Puglia region of southern Italy. If you find yourself in this “Italian Shangri La” (as I have heard it described), there are some helpful hints on photographing Matera at the end of the blog post here.

It is not often visited by Americans and is mostly an Italian tourist destination, which makes it especially appealing. It is one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world and it has a mournful and storied past of economic heights followed by a long nadir of depression, illness, and death that gripped it until filmmakers and photographers re-discovered it in the 1950s and 60s.

Now, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has recently earned the “Cultural Capital of Europe” designation for 2019. It embodies the classic “rags to riches” narrative that we Americans relish. Today there’s a bit of ironic swank in the city’s “Sassi.” Where once cave dwellers lived in squalor, tourists now enjoy Prosecco with candied mini raspberries in chic restaurants.

The “Sassi” or old part of the city is abundant with  twisted alleyways (reminiscent of Tangier’s old medina) and neat, quirky corridors at every turn.

The position of the city in a large canyon, the unique and beguiling architecture, the seductive geometry of the city and the influx of capital to reclaim and reconstruct it, make it an alluring place for visual artists and tourists alike.

There’s a wistfulness that permeates Matera, and an unrelenting aesthetic and metaphysical curiosity about it.

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1. Don’t be afraid of the dark. When the lights first turn on at dusk and the sky is still blue – you can get some beautiful imagery.
2. Ask for directions. Where does the eye want to go? Find a staircase (or staircases) or a path and use it as a “leading line”
3. There’s always an angle. Images are so much more interesting when shots are angled and the subject is not directly in the middle of the image.
4. It’s all in the details. Sometimes a simple thing, while it may not be tourist attraction or a beautiful vista, is visually interesting, like a chair or some graffiti or even a cat (I’ve got plenty here).
5. Be off center. The subject of interest in your photo should not be smack dab in the center. Make it more interesting.
6. Look for depth. Images are so much more interesting when they are multilayered. Is there a path that leads somewhere that you can see? Or a doorway behind a doorway? Look for the layers.
7. Frame it. Sometimes using some foliage to frame your subject makes it more interesting. Shoot through some weeds or flowers or behind a tree to create framing.
8. Look on the bright side. You might think a cloudy day is bad for your photos, but the clouds create a lovely softbox and you don’t have high contrasty images like you would on a sunny day. Embrace the cloudy day.

If you have any questions about photographing or visiting Matera, I am happy to answer them in my experience.

Firefly Photography is also booking appointments in  NH (Keene,  Upper Valley and Monadnock area), and  Vermont  for dreamy maternity, newborn, and child & family portrait photography.

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